POPUP CONTENT UPGRADES

For example, two months ago I added this Thrive Leads popup to my blog:

The popup converts at 5.44% and has added 716 new subscribers to my email list in the last 60 days:

In fact, popups add over 450 subscribers to my email list every month.

BUT, let me fill you in on a little secret...

Not all popups are created equal.

In order to maximize conversions you need to add content upgrades to your popups.

It's a content-specific offering tailored to the content of the page that provides instant value to the reader. You know the reader will find it valuable because they are reading the content on the page.

It’s a large “box” that sits above your blog content, giving a brief synopsis of what your blog is about and why people will benefit if they subscribe.

Many successful bloggers are using them to grow their email list:

Here is one I've been using on my blog:

This feature box converts at over 4% and has added hundreds of subscribers to my email list:

Why do feature boxes work so well?

Four main reasons:

1) When someone visits your website they know exactly what it is about, and if they’re interested in learning more they’ll likely sign up. 2) Quickly captures the attention of the reader at the top of the page. 3) You're able to place an opt-in form front and center converting the reader as soon as they land on your site. No need to wait for the popup to trigger. 4) You can target feature box messaging to specific posts/pages on your site. A great way to promote your content upgrades.

There are a number of specific features that make this tool so effective:

Targeting capabilities

You can target feature boxes to different posts on your site, effectively turning them into content upgrades:

All you have to do is create a feature box using one of the pre-built templates and select it from the dropdown beneath your WordPress content:

TWO-STEP LIGHTBOXES

The traditional way to get people to opt in to your email list is to display a form like this:

It works well and is very easy to understand.

You fill out a form and get something in return.

The two-step opt-in process works slightly different.

With the two step opt in you display a link, or button, for the reader to click and then an opt in form appears for them to fill in.

For example:

In this post I use a two-step opt-in form to make a button click trigger a popup to display:

When the reader clicks the button this popup appears:

The reader still needs to put in their email address but they don’t see the form until after they click the button or link.

The logic here is that people are more likely to click a button or a link than enter their email address. After they have clicked a link they have subconsciously committed themselves to the process and are more likely to complete it by filling out the form.

This two-step popup form is converting at 7.05%:

You can take this strategy to another level and use a plugin like Thrive Leads to make any page element trigger an opt-in form...

This opens up a new world of retargeting possibilities, including the ability to target lead magnets to people who have already shown an expressed interest in a related topic.

For example:

Let’s say I want to build a list of people interested in content promotion and target them with my content promotion ebook.

I’d head over to Buzzsumo and look at the top content related to “content promotion”:

There are a number of posts with several thousand social shares.

Let’s go with the #1 article from Moz and click the “view sharers” tab:

By engaging with a piece of content I can infer these people are interested in the topic and will be much more receptive to my content promotion ebook lead magnet.

Export the list of sharers.

Rinse and repeat for 10 - 15 of the most popular articles.

You can also enter different keyword variations or use advanced twitter search tactics if you run out of content with a lot of social engagement.
Once you’ve exported all the sharers it’s time to build your retargeting list.

Head over to the Twitter Ads platform and select “Audience Manager” from the “Tools” dropdown:

Choose “Twitter IDs” and upload the CSV file.

Create a Twitter ad campaign and use the tailored audience to target people with an expressed interest in the topic of your lead magnet.

These people are MUCH more likely to opt-in to your offer over broad interest-based audiences.

Pro Tip:

Want to steal some of your competitor’s subscribers or customers?

Head over to Buzzsumo and enter the URL of one of your top competitors.

Buzzsumo will return a list of your competitor’s most shared content.

You can then click the “view sharers” button and export a list of all the people who have shared a piece of your competitor’s content.

This is a great way to convert their audience and get yourself in front of a new audience of potential customers.

STAY FRONT AND CENTER WITH IN-CONTENT FORMS

Many website owners will add a form to their sidebar, create a popup and call it a day.

HUGE waste.

Why?

A couple reasons…

First, pretty much every man and their dog has some type of form in their sidebar. As a result, readers are becoming blind to them. In fact, I’ve found them to be one of the lowest converting form types.

Second, you might show a popup form to someone before they are ready to convert.

To build an email list, you need to give readers multiple chances to opt-in (without pissing them off).

Luckily, there is a non-intrusive way to do this…

In-content forms.

Here is a live example:

You embed opt-in forms throughout your content, giving readers the option to opt-in to your email list multiple times as they are consuming your content.

I've collected 261 emails by placing forms within my posts:

Ok, where do I place the forms and how many should I use?

The number of forms you embed will depend largely on the length of your posts.

If you write a 1,000 article, place a form in the middle and at the end of your content.

If you publish long form content (3-7,000 words) like me, placing 3-5 forms through the post is fine.

The logic is simple:

The further a person reads through your content the more interested they are, and more likely they will be to opt in to your list to receive more.

BUT, don't just add generic opt-in forms within your content that say something like "subscribe to get free updates"...

Add content upgrades to boost conversions.

For example:

Content Upgrade post

SEMrush review post

General rule:

Embed a form every 1,000 - 1,500 words and always place one at the end of the post.

If someone reads all the way to the end of a post they liked what they read, and probably want more :)

Do you need technical skills to add forms within your posts?

No.

You can use Thrive Leads to add beautifully designed opt-in forms anywhere on your site in seconds...without writing a single line of code.

- If someone reads all the way to the end of guest post they likely enjoyed it
- If the reader clicks through to your website they are interested in learning more about you (and what additional value you have to offer)
- Once the reader is on your site they are immediately presented with an opportunity to get MORE epic content :)

Make a strong first impression!

Thrive Content Builder is a really helpful tool for this step, especially if want to be able to launch high-converting landing pages without writing any code.

4 SIMPLE A/B TESTS THAT WILL DOUBLE YOUR OPT-IN RATE

I can’t tell you how many people have told me “popups only piss people off”…

“You should only show forms 60 seconds after someone lands on your page”…

Blah blah blah…

If I’d taken that advice at face value without testing for myself I would have missed out on THOUSANDS of email subscribers.

For example:

Last week I ran a test and found popups displaying on page load (yes, you read correctly) had a 91.06% higher conversion rate than exit intent popups:

That’s 56 additional subscribers in 7 days by setting up a simple A/B test.

Bottom line…

Every site and audience is different, run A/B tests and you’ll find some surprising winning combinations.

Here 5 things you should be A/B testing:

1. Triggers

A/B test trigger settings - events that need to happen in order to activate the appearance of your opt-in form:

This includes:

- Show on page load
- Show when the user reaches the end of the content
- Show when a user scrolls to a specific part of the content
- Show when the user scrolls to specific percentage down the content
- Show when a user clicks an element- Show when the user is about to exit the page (exit intent) - Show after a certain period of time

For example:

In the last 12 days I've found forms showing immediately on page load are converting better than 10 seconds after page load:

2. Display frequency

You’d think showing the same form to the same visitor every time they open a new page would piss them off, right?

CREATE A DEDICATED SQUEEZE PAGE

The page should be simple, free from distractions and include the following basic elements:

Headline:
Immediately capture the reader’s attention and communicate value. One easy way to do this is ask a question.

Bonus: If possible, include logos of clients or other publications you've written for. This will create credibility with your readers.

Benefits:
Spell out the top benefits the reader will receive after signing up for your email list. Exact numbers work great.

Social proof:
Include logos and testimonials to instantly build credibility with the reader.

CTA:
Only include one crystal clear CTA.

Simple, but effective.

The key is to continually A/B test the landing page to find the highest converting variant.

For example:

Right now I’m testing to see if a 2-step opt-in (covered in #6) will boost conversions.

(In case you missed it)…

A button is displayed instead of a traditional opt-in form, when you click on it a popup displays to capture the email address:

Clicking a button is a smaller intial ask compared to filling out a form.

The psychology…

Once the reader clicks the button they have committed to the opt-in process by signalling their intent to get the benefits of signing up and are MUCH more likely to fill out the form to complete that process.

While playing around with Positionly blog we’ve implemented social proof into the pop up by embedding a tweet. It looked even more convincing, than using the number of subscribers and… we noticed some pretty good results because of it.

Sounds interesting!! I think you have cover each and every single point on this topic. I want to start email subsribers in my blog and i think your research and source will definitely works for me and other also. You have done great research on this. Screenshot shows that you have applied almost all this streatgy for your blog.

Hello Robbie.
This is really very informative and interesting, i can’t remember the last time i read such a comprehensive blog post on List Building. I know that this must have taken you so much time to put together.

I agree with you James, Popup techniques should be used carefully but we cannot ignore the fact that these techniques grow email lists.The plugin tools allows the user to create attractive website, subscription forms, etc. to capture the attention of the website visitors instantly. Layered popup, GetSiteControl, SumoMe, Pippity, OptinMonster, etc. are few such tools that are present in the market and are widely used email marketers all over the world.Read a blog in EASYSENDY PRO which emphasise on the tools you can use to grow email lists.

Thanks for weighing in Debbie. Completely agree, popups do annoy some people, and I can appreciate why. Like banner blindness, popup blindness is becoming more of a “thing” now too. But, they do work. And, I’ve found the more aggressive you are with them, the higher the conversion rate. Thrive Leads is the tool I use to build my email list https://www.robbierichards.com/recommended-tools/. Well worth a mention!

Unlike many other writings on the same topic, this post has zero fluff whatsoever.
Point 19th about social proof is very potent. I myself applied it on my website popup and saw around 12% increase in emails.

I blog frequently and I truly appreciate your information. The article has
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